Credit rating agency Fitch warns Dutch banks

7th February 2013, 0 comments

Credit ratings agency Fitch on Wednesday maintained its current ratings for Dutch banks ING, ABN Amro and BNG, but downgraded them from a stable to negative outlook.

Earlier this week, Fitch downgraded its outlook for the Netherlands as a whole from stable to negative, saying falling house prices are not good for consumer confidence and are depressing spending power. The country retained its AAA status.

All three banks are either state owned or have had state support. BNG is the state-run local authorities bank.

In a statement, Fitch said the nationalisation of financial services group SNS Reaal last week shows the Dutch banking sector is not yet out of trouble.